People Skills

Quintessentially Cristi–Balancing the Nuances of People and Technology

A strong academic background in human behavior.

Interim support, supervision, and management at 12 distinct library branches, of various sizes, serving over 440,000 patrons for over a decade. Assignments ranged from one day up to 5 months.

Ability to step in to unique and complex library environments, assess the immediate needs, and to make sure that operations run smoothly.

A seasoned public librarian, fluent in informational literacy.

Expertise in meeting people where they are in learning new technologies and in navigating unfamiliar computer applications.

A tested understanding that people learn in different ways. Cristi caters her approach to each individual in helping clients meet their unique informational needs.

A proven track record of working effectively with diverse populations, including minorities and all age-groups.

A skill set that allows for easier navigation of an ever-changing technological world. Cristi’s hands-on experience in teaching informational literacy, coupled with a functional understanding of HTML, CSS and the fundamentals of computer programming bring an increasingly in-demand skill set to the workplace.

The Balanced Package

The seasoned communicator and teacher–
Cristi has instructed classes and individuals in the following subjects.

Pre-literacy and early-learning concepts

Brain and cognitive development

Basic internet and computer skills

Database instruction, and staff integrated library system training

New-employee orientation

Cognitive and social biases

Cristi’s ability to speak Spanish and her cultural literacy, combine well with a background and ongoing interest in psychology and neuroscience. This skill set enables her to effectively reach a diverse clientele and makes her an exceptionally valuable asset in the workplace. Cristi can often see ways to open doors to solutions that may not be obvious to others.

Information Architecture

Cristi’s understanding of cognitive development and learning combined with an extensive knowledge of brain and social biases also serve as effective tools in mapping the bigger picture necessary to help people learn.

This practical knowledge of how humans learn also assists Cristi in implementing the concepts of effective user-experience design and information architecture. She understands how people’s brains are wired to learn and to accept certain information as valid. Cristi also factors in how social and cognitive biases often skew people’s perceptions towards preconceived ideas and predictable outcomes.

Librarians naturally deal with taxonomies and are constantly evaluating, implementing, and tweeking programs and interfaces to better meet the needs of their community. Cristi brings 14 years of hands-on experience, working with library constructs in providing accurate information to patrons in both digital and traditional means, while at the same time seeking to improve services to the community.

A Real-life User-Experience Example

Cristi makes connections in ways that help people navigate new territory. In teaching the elderly to navigate the internet, she noticed that many had difficulty grasping the concept of a search engine. Knowing that the human brain learns best when it can tie an unfamiliar task to a known activity, Cristi came up with the following solution that worked quite well for most people.

Many of the elderly grew up with party lines and remembered dialing the telephone operator to make a long-distance call. Cristi asked them to look at the search box on the Google interface like they were interacting with an old fashioned operator. Instead of dialing a zero and talking to the operator, they simply type in key words describing what is desired. When they click the search button, it is like the operator moving the cable to connect the call, only the computer does it for them and then presents a list of options from which they can choose.

Honed Organizational and Managerial Skills

5 years as the front-line office manager for a busy naturopathic practice.

Extensive experience in creating programs for the general public, including in-house productions and community outreach to minority populations.

Cristi brings the experience, education and knowhow to the table to effectively conceive, plan, implement, and to evaluate programs, projects, and their teams. She excels at leading small groups of people and work teams to desired outcomes on time and within prescribed budgets.

The Big Picture

Cristi encourages cooperative ways to frame life and to work together with people and technology. She loves touching people in positive ways by taking concepts and framing them into tangible art and media via images and music.

Cristi excels at seeing projects from start to finish and prides herself in instilling excellence in the work that she does and oversees. Cristi’s unique, creative talents and proven people skills combine well with building bridges of understanding between creative mediums, the written word, technology, and diverse groups of people and work-teams. Most of all, when life comes together in unexpected ways, absolutely blowing her away with the beauty of the moment, she remembers to always say, “Thank-you.”